Young Author Interview!

Hey everyone!

I have exciting news for you all today... Lena, author of Hafling Diaries as well as blogger at Love of a Lifetime, graciously allowed me to interview her about her writing! Hope you enjoy! :) (Thanks so much, Lena!)

How did you get the idea for your book, Halfling Diaries? I've had the idea of writing a book about a girl who goes searching for her mother for years, but I never got to thinking about what the full plot would be. I finally picked it back up in November.

When did you start writing your book? I started the idea about two or three years ago, but it never got very far. I picked it back up in November 2012.

How did you get the idea for the title of the book? I had no idea what I would call "Hafling Diaries" until I picked it back up again. When I first started to write it several years ago, I was calling it "Amara's Adventures," but I just wasn't liking that title. So I thought about it a bit more, and "Hafling Diaries" came to mind.

Did you design the cover yourself? :) No, I did not design the cover for "Hafling Diaries." Miss Audrey Graham designed it in a challenge. I'm designing my own cover for "The Fairy Princess."

What age would you recommend for your book? Hm, I'd probably say 13+. 

Who is your favorite author? Does his or her writing influence your own writing? I have several favorite authors. I absolutely love Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, Robin Jones Gunn, Jordyn Redwood, and Anne Elisabeth Stengl. It wasn't until after I had been reading several books a while back that I actually started to think about picking up some stories that I had started but never finished.

Do you hope to write more books in the future? Oh, yes! I'm currently working on "The Fairy Princess," which is a story about Angelique, Amara's grandmother. And I've got an idea about another one that has to do with one of the other characters in "Hafling Diaries." I'm also thinking about restarting a book I started and did finish with about three different endings. This one isn't fantasy; it's more general fiction. (The main character is also my pen-name, hint-hint)

How did you get your book published? When I was doing YWP NaNoWriMo this past year, I read that all winners get to have five free paperback copies of their novel and get their novel published at the same time. The offer was from Create Space, a self-publishing and Amazon company. It's also easy to get your novel published on Kindle through Create Space.

Do you have any advice for other writers? When my brother read my book (surprisingly), he had some pretty good advice for me: "Less dialogue and more descriptions of people, places, and things."

How do you deal with writer's block? When it comes to writer's block, just keep thinking and writing. If I get stuck in a scene, I try to think about what's happening and what will happen afterwards. That usually works for me.

Anything you would like to add? :) Originally, I was writing with a pen-name: Fiona R. Darrol. But, I decided to stick to Lena Elizabeth. I've also got ideas for making book covers and other designing challenges of any sort. I've even got one for "The Fairy Princess." It's a merging of two photos I took. I'm really enjoying designing my book covers on the side of writing books.

Thanks so much for the interview, Lena! It was a pleasure to talk with you! I'll be looking forward to your future projects!

-- Klara